Caged Innocence
by Panda Rogue
Summary: Having lost a friend in his youth, Sasuke lives up to his ANBU name "Ice Raven." But then he stumbles upon a secret that disturbs him deeply and it will change his views of Konoha forever.


**A/n**: Okay! This story/chapter is the epitome of my dementedness. In other words…I have a sick mind!!! ENJOY!

**Caged Innocence**

**Chapter 1: For Hatred Does This Heart Bleed**

One calm summer's eve a small boy stood in the river, a painful smile lit his lips as the cool water lapped at his ankles. His hair was like spun gold and his eyes were such a brilliant blue that the sky was ashamed since it could not compare. Deep black bruises and red scratches covered every visible part of his tawny skin. Tears welled in his eyes as he cast his gaze to the crescent moon that glowed dimly in the velvety black sky. Pain was echoing through his body.

Throbbing, pulsing; pounding against his nerves and brain.

His life was hell to put it simply. No one liked him, no one loved him. Not a single person noticed his existence unless it was to abuse him in some manner.

Stoned, dragged through the streets, beaten, nearly drowning, and attacks on his life. He'd dealt with many different obstacles that affected his life in some way or another. He was a pure entity, but scarred for life.

There would be days where he would wonder what the villagers would do to get rid of him next; all of the ideas were bizarre yet possible in their own sick way.

Raped, dismemberment, decapitation, gutted like a fish, strung up, hung, skinned alive, and crucified were just some of the ideas he figured the villagers would come up with. But here he stood, still alive and kicking; he wasn't going to give up his hold on life so easily even though it was becoming harder to do so with each passing day.

He hummed a sad tune as the moon made rippling reflections of the water on his marred skin.

He was a child of misery and he knew it.

"**THERE'S THE LITTLE BEAST!**" An angry cry rolled over the land, reaching his ears.

He spun, sending tendrils of water flying as he looked behind him. There they were…just like in a bad horror movie. Torches were lit and they all looked extremely pissed; as if they'd just come off the set from Frankenstein. It was a sight that no five year old child should see.

"Get 'im!" Another person yelled.

Frozen to the spot he could do nothing as the group rushed towards him, torches held high, eyes blazing with revulsion and cruelty.

This was it.

They were through dealing with him.

Hands snatched at him. Grabbing his hair and clothes, pulling at him with so much hatred that more bruises sprung upon his person. Pain drowned his mind, erasing all thoughts. All he knew was that he was going to die. There was nothing he could do as they dragged his sorry hide through the dirt to a place where a stake was being erected and wood was being piled around it.

A single thought ran through his head- they were going to burn him alive.

_Didn't think they would do that_, he thought calmly.

The only reason he was calm was because he knew it was time to meet his maker. Knew he couldn't do anything to stop them.

He knew that the only way for them to calm down was for them to be rid of his presence. And he felt so sorry that they felt that they.

Yeah, he felt no anger towards these people he saw as his neighbors; no, he only felt sorrow that they thought this way.

He allowed himself to be violently tied to the stake, saying nothing as two women came up with torches to light the kinder around him. The wood must've been soaked in oil because the fire caught onto the wood like it was paper. The villagers stepped back to watch his demise, cheering his death as the flames swirled him in an entrancing dance.

The flames turned his vision yellow and orange as they touched his skin in breathy little kisses as they reached up to the darkened sky. Soon the fire was burning at his clothes and turning his skin a radiant red.

Then he was screaming in agony. It was too much to bear, but he had to do this to appease the civilians of Konohagakure.

It wasn't long before he couldn't take the pain anymore and he blacked out.

--

_He was sitting there in a strange location, the light was a grey-black and there was nothing around him except for a thick fog. He wasn't even sure what he was sitting on. Wait a second…Was he dead? His eyes went wide as he realized that he felt no pain._

_So he was most assuredly dead…right?_

_Looking around to tryd to find confirmation of his death, but as he had noted before, there was nothing. This place was empty of everything. Suddenly out of the foggy gloom a figure approached him. It was a tall man, though his height was intensified by his own short stature, with long white hair and glowing yellow eyes._

"_Hello, Uzumaki Naruto," the man said in a deep voice, revealing sharp white teeth._

_Naruto shivered. That voice was deep and held the knowledge of everything in the world; it was the voice of a demon. _

_Suddenly the man chuckled. "I am no demon. I am the god of death."_

"_Shinigami-san?" Naruto asked curiously._

_The man nodded. "Where am I?"_

"_To put it simply, you're in limbo."_

_Naruto nodded, understanding that he wasn't exactly dead yet. But why was he here?_

"_I brought you." Naruto shivered again._

_It was so creepy that this man could apparently read minds._

"_I brought you here because your death was unjustified and way too early. And I don't like that. When someone dies a death for apparently no reason except for misplaced anger…Well let's just say those people aren't going to sleep well for a very long time."_

_The chuckle that left that mouth was so evil Naruto once again felt sorry for the villagers. "Why do you feel such sorrow towards the people that constantly tried to kill you?"_

_Looking into those yellow eyes a little emotionless smile graced his face. "Because they feared me is all. They couldn't get to know me because of that fear, so I felt sorry for them. It was all I could do. If I got angry and tried to fight back my life would've been condemned and I could've been executed on the spot." He finished with a shrug._

'_Hmm, wise words for such a young mind,' Shinigami-san thought._

_The blond child watched the god as he paced before him, thinking deeply on something. Closing his eyes he calmed his mind, meditating while he waited for Shinigami-san to stop._

_--_

_Shinigami-san paused for a second when he felt a small disturbance in the air. Looking down he saw that the boy was meditating. This boy was unfazed by the fact that he was an inch from death. He crouched down till he was eye level with the boy. Curiosity was torturing him; he had to know what made this boy so different from others. He put a long white finger to the boy's forehead, between his eyes, and merged with the spirit of the blond._

_And he was devastated by what he saw. He was appalled by the words that were whispered to a mere innocent child of only a year old, and saddened by the look in those blue eyes. A look that clearly meant he knew what was being said about him._

_He went through years of seeing the blond grow older, digging through trash just to survive since he was banned from any and all stores. But some of his dismay disappeared when he saw one man and one boy help the boy whenever he was sick. Those two were going to live good lives if he had anything to say about it. At the end of the road of memories he withdrew his mind and placed his hand on the boy's head, saddened when the boy flinched from the touch. Shinigami-san knew what he was going to do about this boy._

_--_

_Feeling a gentle hand on his head he couldn't help but flinch even though he knew Shinigami-san meant no harm. Opening his eyes he was immediately caught in that golden stare and couldn't stop himself from gulping._

"_It's okay young one. I'm going to give you a new chance at life. Right now your body has been found and hidden away within a cave to where prying eyes cannot find you. There you shall live in comfort and peace until the time comes to see the world again with eyes unclouded by pain."_

_Naruto nodded, not really understanding; but trying to appear so. Shinigami-san chuckled as he stood._

"_Good luck, small one," he whispered._

_The fog swirled around him, turning from grey to black, as it carried him away into darkness. _


End file.
